


Between the Walls

by Riverside7724



Series: Between the Walls [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Medieval, Anxiety, Bar fights, Blackouts, Bribery, Corruption, Drinking, Flashbacks, Fluff and Angst, Government Experimentation, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Major Character Injury, Minor Injuries, Nightmares, Original Character(s), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Social Anxiety, Testing - Freeform, Tree Climbing, idk how to tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:22:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 16,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24098011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Riverside7724/pseuds/Riverside7724
Summary: Dean and Cas live in the simple town of Havbunnen in Fjelon. This small town mostly consists of farmers and shopkeepers and hasn't seen war in many decades. When it comes time for the bi-annual ritual of Ofre, the town is prepared to offer up five people for the government's purposes that aren't told to to townsfolk. But this Ofre is different. When Dean gets taken Cas starts on a mission to save his boyfriend from the government- but what he will discover is beyond what he ever imagined. In a quest for justice, love, and family, Cas and Dean set off on a expedition to uncover whats really going on in Fjelon.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester
Series: Between the Walls [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1738669
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! I will try to be on a schedule for posting this. My goal is a chapter a week- every Saturday. Tell me what you think in the comments- questions, feedback, general comments:) Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy! *Any italicized text is backstory*

“Dude, I swear to The Fol! Get down here, you're going to get hurt!” Cas yelled up to Dean who was climbing haphazardly up a shaky pine in the middle of the forest. Dean’s laughter echoed down from his perch on a branch. 

A cold wind swept through the woods, rustling the leaves and causing Cas to shiver where he was standing on the ground. Wrapping his coat tighter around his body he glanced up in the tree to see that Dean had traveled about 5 feet higher. 

Castiel huffed and shuffled his feet around in the thin layer of snow that had collected in the last twenty minutes that he’d been there. 

“You know…” Dean remarked from the pine, “Some say if you say their name three times they’ll come to kill ya!” 

Cas smirked up at his boyfriend. 

“What are you trying to tell me Dean? Cause ya know, I could leave, and then you’d be lost out here. Not sure how long it would take a hunting party to find you,” Cas teased. He tucked his hands into the worn pockets of the coat. 

It was quiet for a moment, the wind whistling through Cas’s hair when he heard the ‘snap’ of a branch from high above him.

“Dean!” 

Silence.

“Dean!”

Silence.

Fear scratching at his heart and chest tight, Cas frantically started to search the top of the trees for Dean’s figure among the branches when he heard a faint laugh up in a nearby tree. It got louder and louder until Dean’s deep laugh could be heard throughout the forest.

Cas scowled down at the snow that he had pressed down with his boot tracks.

“Not funny, dude…”

He heard a thump on the ground next to him and a grunt from Dean as he landed in the soft snow. Dean trudged over to Cas, the snow now at their calves. He pressed a cold kiss to his equally cold cheek and fished one of Cas’s hands out of his pockets and interlaced it with his. 

“You can’t get rid of me that easily,” Dean squeezed Cas’s hand and they started to make the trek back to Havbunnen. 

Planted in the center of the valley of Fjelon, Havbunnen was a small town, but the only town either of the boys had ever really known as home. With only about 165 people, Hav wasn’t the hotspot for activity. On a busy day, the market would see maybe 120 people at most, and busy days were rare. 

“I need to grab some new glasses from Kida’s stand. A couple of drunks last night shattered some during their fight over whether the ocean was to the North or to the East of The Silver Mountains. I’ll never understand why people like to get drunk!” Dean laughed as they entered Hav’s market square. A few people bustled around a few spare coins in one hand, a small child being dragged behind. Dust spiraled around their ankles. 

At the thought of the crowd that would surely be there, Cas squeezed Dean’s hand.

“Hey, we’ll be quick. Five minutes okay?” Dean looked in Cas’s eyes worriedly. 

Suppressing his argument to just go home and get them later, Cas nodded slightly. 

“Cas,” Dean said firmly, “We can go home, I’m not going to force you to do this. Really, Cas, it’s alright.” 

Cas shook his head in rejection of the idea. Dean paused for a moment, silently asking him if he was sure. When Cas nodded again, more earnestly this time, Dean nodded back. 

Fidgeting with his pocket with his free hand, they walked into the market area. 

Colorful stalls lined the path and smells wafted into the open air, curling around the people standing behind counters selling meat, or crops, or various trinkets from around Fjelon. Even though there weren’t many people in the market, it was still loud. Layers of people yelling at others, people calling prices, and others arguing over prices, shot over their heads as they made their way through the carts. Cas squeezed Dean’s hand again and Dean squeezed it back reassuringly. 

It didn’t matter how many times he came to the market, it would still freak him out. His breath would get fast, his heart felt like it was going to jump out of his chest, and all he wanted to do was run into a quiet corner. But Dean was here. Just having him hold his hand grounded him somewhat, or at least enough to manage for the five minutes until they reached Kida’s.

The sound quickly shut out as they ducked under a curtain and into one of the stalls. Across the tent, a woman sat in a chair reading to what seemed like a book of poems. Glasses were perched on the top of her rusty colored hair that was swept up onto the top of her head. She seemed too deep in thought to realize that they had entered, so Dean and Cas stood quietly by the door. After a few moments, and a page turn later Dean spoke up.

“Kida? I’m here…”

“Oh! Come in, come in!” Kida lept out of her chair, the books crashing to the ground in the sudden moment.

“Oh shoot… give me a second, I’ll be right with you two” Kida babbled as she snatched her book up from the ground. 

“Okay! She stood up, dusting off her long tunic, ”now, what can I get you too?”

“Well Kida, Geo ordered some glasses last night. Sent me to pick them up.”

Kida scrunches up her nose in thought.

“Did you get his note?” Dean prompted. 

In a flash, Kida’s face lit up with realization. Pausing for a moment, like she was considering where she put them, Kida rushed to the back of the tent and out of sight from Dean and Cas. 

“Where’d you find her,” Cas chuckled as they sat in the chairs by the entrance. 

Dean laughed.

“All I know is that she’s an old friend of Geo’s. Apparently the best glassmaker in all of Fjelon.” 

In a flurry, Kida was back with a crate that clinked every time she moved. Setting it on the table in front of the boys with a grunt she wiped off the dirt from her hands. 

“That should be all of them! 32 correct?”

Cas looked at Dean in astonishment.

“They broke 32 glasses over where the ocean is!” 

\--------

Dean held the crate of glasses as they walked out of the lively market. Finally being able to calm down his heartbeat, Cas took in a deep breath of winter air. Their feet slid in the layer of snow that was covering the path. 

As they walked to the bar to drop off the glasses, Cas noticed a field to their left. Nudging Dean’s arm, he cocked his head to gesture to the field. 

“You know, that’s where we first met,” Cas remarked proudly. Dean frowned.

“No, it out by Hujen’s farm.”

“Nah, it was there. Jeez, about six years ago now.”

_ The sun was high in the sky. It was mid-summer and it was hot. Hotter than it had ever been in Havbunnen. Most of the town had smartly decided to stay inside, but most of the teenagers had nothing to do inside so they were all out in the huge field. Cicadas chirped in the tall grasses and crickets rubbed their legs together creating a perfect soundtrack to that hot day.  _

_ Dean was in the middle of the field. He and Lian were playing who knows what, but their laughter carried across the field to where Cas was sitting beneath a tree. Light filtered through the tree leaves and onto the book Cas was reading. Maybe it was poems like Kida, or maybe a thriller about pirates, no one really remembers. But nevertheless, the day felt alive.  _

_ Cas, fully concentrating on his novel, was very rudely interrupted by a ball hitting the tree, inches from his head.  _

_ “Hey!” a boy yelled over to him. Cas begrudgingly looked up from his book to see that a group of boys had formed a couple of feet from his spot. Slowly closing the book, Cas scowled up at them.  _

_ “Yes.” _

_ “You’re in the way of our game. Either leave or we’ll make ya,” the boys threatened.  _

_ Cas raised his eyebrows.  _

_ “No.”  _

_ He then promptly reopened his book to the page he’d marked and continued reading. The boys -surprised that this boy had just refused their threat- looked at each other in confusion. _

_ “That wasn’t one of the options,” one of the boys refused.  _

_ “Well, now it is. Go find somewhere else to play. I’m busy as you can see. I’d offer that you could join me, but I doubt any of you could read.” _

_ The boys looked at each other again, shocked that they had just been told off.  _

_ Not having an argument back, they trudged away mumbling under their breath something along the lines of ‘what just happened?’ _

_ During this exchange, or more like defeat, Dean was sitting out a few feet away nursing his twisted ankle. In awe of this boy who had just told off six boys, he scooted over to him. _

_ “That was really brave! They could have beaten ya up or something!” Dean exclaimed.  _

_ “Nah, they wouldn’t have done anything. My dad’s an official,” Cas responded, nose still in his book.  _

_ Dean then asked him what he was reading, and that’s when it started. The rest of their lives.  _

After about ten minutes of walking, the Tavern came into sight. The old wooden building was older than anyone could remember in Hav. It was originally owned by Han Erlen who built the original building. Over the years it's been passed down through his family -each one of them added their own little touch to the place- until it got to Geo’s hands. 

Geo had owned the bar for about 25 years. During his ownership, his personal touch to the place was an extra room in the back. He’d outfitted it with a couple of mats and various shelves and drawers. Now Geo was a big guy, but he was the kindest soul in Hav. Whenever someone was stumbling drunk he’d offer them a bed in the back for a small fee. Most people were gone by morning, but Geo didn’t like the thought of people leaving his bar too drunk to know what was the path and what was deep woods. Dean told Cas that a couple of times whole hunting groups will stay when one of their men passed out drunk and Geo would bring in extra beds from the back for them. 

Aside from that, Geo’s bar was known across Fjelon for their mead and lager. People would come from all around on Friday nights or weekends to laugh and drink and gamble away their earnings from the week. 

At any point during any day, one may see a group playing cards in the corner, and a group of hunters sharing stories over full glasses of mead. No matter what time you come, there is always the man who just came back from hunting and has a daring story to tell anyone who will listen about a bear or a wolf or something in which he barely survived. In addition to the rambling man, the Tavern is a hub for getting people to do things for you- whether it be a spy, assassin, or just a trader of valuable things- there is always someone looking for their next gig. If you know when to come, you can find yourself, people, for any sort of job you need to be done that may need to be under the radar. Now like any bar, there are the occasional all-out fistfights, but the owner Geo is not afraid to break it up. He is not hesitant to split up a group of hunters waving around their knives angrily at their partner.

But overall, the bar was one place where the whole town could relax. 

The door creaked open as Dean pushed it with his foot. With Cas behind him, they trudged into the tavern, stomping snow and mud off their boots. Dropping the crate down on one of the tables, a ‘crash’ from the back suddenly split the quiet. 

“Geo, you good?” Dean yelled towards the back. 

A flurry of scuffling was heard before Geo emerged from the back room. One arm supported a case of what looked like bottles of gin, and the other arm held up a crate of thick bottles of a deep brown liquor. Stumbling a bit, Geo carefully lowered both of the boxes to the bar counters table with a ‘thud.’

“Hey boys, would one of ya run into the back and grab the box of shot glasses?” Geo asked wearily. He then produced a loud yawn that seemed to shake his whole body.

“You alright?” Cas questioned the man.

“Ya, ya,” Geo responded, but not without yawning again, “Jeir’s heading into Duin tomorrow and needed me to give him the mead to sell today so he could start packing for the trip.”

Jeir was a good friend of Geo’s who used to work at the tavern until he got married and decided to settle down and work on the land they’d bought. Every so often though he’d go to Duin to sell his goods, so Geo would give him some mead to sell- mostly to promote the Tavern. 

Dean dropped the box of shot glasses on the counter next to the others, the glasses clinking in their crate. 

“Thanks,” Geo started unpacking the glasses and placing them on a shelf behind the counter.

“You need any help?” Cas asked him. 

“Nah, this shouldn’t take me long. But you two should swing by next week. Dean, I know you don’t have a shift but with Ofre coming up, people are going to be wanting a drink or two. May need some help moving some more tables in and whatnot.”

Ofre happened every six months and had been happening for the last 19 years. At the mark of six months, all of the officials from the town would gather to announce The Five. 

The Five were the five people that would be chosen to be taken to a secure government area and other than that, well no one really knows. In reality, no one actually knows where they went, but people speculated that that was where they ended up. 

At first, they tried to convince people that the five were handpicked for a special ceremony, or ritual, or something. When people started to get suspicious because the five weren't returning, the officials tried to convince people that these people were for a special program. No other details were given of course. 

By about year four of the Ofre, which is what people started to call it, the officials successfully convinced people that it was for a special training program for, well, they didn’t tell them. 

Of course people revolted. The officials were taking their children, their husbands, their parents. The larger revolts happened when Cas and Dean were very young so they don’t remember it but they’ve heard stories. Apparently, people from many different towns came together one Ofre and refused to elt The Five be taken. When the guards forced their way over to the chosen, the guns started blazing. 

34 people died that day. Many were injured. And The Five were still taken. 

Over time, as it kept happening, people started to make it a thing. Groups would go out to the Taverns and drink their troubles away before the event the next day, hoping that they weren’t going to be the next to disappear. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I didn't have a ton to do this weekend so I got the next chapter out. Hope you enjoy! Comment with feedback or just comments :)

The snow crunched under their boots as Dean and Cas walked back to Cas' house. The wind whipped through the bare branches making them creak like rusty doors. 

“Remember that girl a couple of years ago that came back. Like she was picked for Ofre and she was found in the middle of the woods. Wasn’t she confused with no memory of where she’d been?” 

Dean nodded, remembering that event. 

A couple of years ago, a hunting group had found a young girl in the middle of the deep woods. They asked her all these questions about who she was and where she came from, but she didn’t know the answer to anything. She had no memory of where she'd been for the past two years. The hunters took her to a local Tavern where they asked her more in depth questions. The hunters then discovered she did remember things, but it was a blank gap of the two years. Luckily, she did remember her name. 

Yinda Lock. 

One of The Five from an Ofre two years ago.

Cas picked at a loose thread in his jacket as they trudged along the path. 

“Whatever happened to her?” Dean inquired thoughtfully.

“They found her parents and brought her to her house. Apparently she wandered off one night and wasn’t ever found again.”

“She get attacked by a bear or something?”

Cas shook his head. “They say The Fol took her back, couldn’t let her spill their secrets.”

With the house in sight, Cas picked up his pace, making Dean have to jog to catch up with him. 

Dean shot Cas a questioning look.

“What? I’m like a walking brick of ice right now. I want to get inside.”

Dean grinned.

\-------------------------

The Tavern was loud. The sound of clinking glasses and boisterous yelling could be heard around the block. 

At a side table covered in empty mead glasses sat Cas sipping on a full glass of thick liquor. Across from him sat Helon, a tall, lean man with a short temper but an even shorter tolerance for alcohol. They’d only had two glasses and Helon was practically passed out across the table, a goofy grin plastered over his face.

Cas and Helon had been friends for as long as either of them could remember. They’d met when Helon fell off a fence into Cas' field and Cas had to splint his broken leg. After that, surprisingly, a friendship started. 

If Cas remembered right, Helon was actually the one who made him go talk to Dean after their first encounter. Of course, Cas had vaguely told Helon about this boy with perfect hair and had talked to him, so Helon had taken action as any friend would.

_ It was a Friday night and the Tavern was packed. Because the weather was getting nicer, hunting groups had come out of hibernation and were actively drinking all of the lager that Erlen’s had.  _

_ Cas and Helon were by the counter with full pitchers of liquor in their hands. They don't remember what they were talking about, maybe farming or horses or something- but that wasn’t important because the second Cas saw the boy from the field he stopped talking. Noticing that his friend wasn’t laughing at his witty comment, Helon looked up from his pitcher to see Cas making heart eyes at a brown haired bartender who was serving a burly hunter a couple of seats down from them.  _

_ “I’m assuming that’s your new boyfriend?” Helon chuckled. Now Helon was currently dating a girl named Rusta, but he could understand why Cas liked the looks of this man. He was perfectly sculpted- high cheekbones, lightly tanned skin that matched with his chestnut colored hair that seemed just the perfect length- but no, not for him. He’d let Cas fawn over this one. _

_ Cas' head whipped around to look at Helon. Cas scowled at Helon’s comment. _

_ “No,” Cas frowned, then noticed he was so and scowled again. Beside him, Helon chuckled again, and before Cas could stop him, he caught Dean’s eye as he turned away from the hunter and waved him over.  _

_ “Helon? What are you doing?” Cas frantically ran a hand through his hair. _

_ “Oh man, you’re totally into him aren’t ya!”  _

_ “Hey guys, what can I get for you?” Dean wiped his hands off with a towel under the bar. _

_ “Hey! I remember you, book boy isn't it!” Dean exclaimed grinning. Cas barely suppressed a blush that crept up his neck. He could hear Helon snickering under his breath so he punched him in the leg under the table, receiving a grunt from his friend.  _

_ “Cas,” he extended his hand over the bar. _

_ “I’d shake your hand, but those hunters I just served I think just came back from a hunt. I’m pretty sure they still had guts on them,” Dean laughed.  _

_ Retracting his hand, Cas fiddled with his fingers under the bar.  _

_ “Dean, by the way.” He smiled shyly at Cas.  _

_ Cas looked up from his hands and smiled at the boy. _

  
  
  


_ \--------- _

_ “Interesting job you got here,” Cas remarked. They were sitting in bar stools facing the empty room.  _

_ The Tavern had closed and Helon had convinced Cas to hang around to talk to Dean after he cleaned up. As Helon had walked out, he shot a not so inconspicuous wink at Cas. Cas rolled his eyes back at Helon, barely suppressing a grin.  _

_ Dean laughed at his comment, light and full of joy. Cas would look back and find that that was the moment he fell in love with his laugh.  _

_ “Ya, I suppose so, especially since I don’t drink.” _

_ Cas cocked his head in confusion.  _

_ “You work at a Tavern, what do you mean you don’t drink? Everyone in Fjelon drinks!” Dean shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Noting the movement Cas did not press further.  _

_ “Sorry,” Cas apologized, “I didn't mean to upset you.” Cas stepped down from the stool. _

_ “My parents died from getting drunk then getting attacked by a bear a couple years ago.” _

_ Not knowing what to say, Cas sat back in his chair. Dean bit his lip and picked at his nails in his lap.  _

_ “Why aren’t you saying sorry?” Dean asked after a few moments of silence, genuinely confused to why Cas was sitting next to him quietly after the confession.  _

_ In the four years since his parents died, everyone seemed like they had to say something to him. That if they didn’t they would feel guilty even though none of that had to do with them. The silent boy next to him was quite the opposite of everyone else.  _

_ “My mom died when I was young. Too young to ever remember her at least. Whenever she was brought up in conversation people always felt the need to apologize for her death, like it was their fault. I know they were just being nice, but it felt pointless. Eventually it just got annoying. I’m sorry if I offended you.” _

_ The two boys sat in silence, sitting in their loss.  _

_ \------------------- _

_ The warm night air felt good on Cas' bare arms as he walked out of Erlen’s.  _

_ “Well that isn’t how I imagined our second meeting being like,” Cas quietly joked. Dean gently smiled at him as he stood in the doorway. _

_ “Me neither, but it was what I needed I think. Thank you.” _

_ Cas nodded. _

_ “You should stop by again. Maybe we could talk about our dead pets next.”  _

_ “I’ll plan on it.”  _

_\------------_

"Hey." 

The bell rang on the top of the door as Cas stepped into the Tavern. The dim lighting cast his tall shadow on the floor scuffed by bar stools and tables. 

It was a couple days until Ofre now, and the Tavern was getting busier than ever, meaning Dean was working more shifts than normal. 

That night he was working late because Geo had to do inventory in the back and needed help cleaning up. His muscular frame was hunched over the counter scrubbing at something with a soapy rag. 

"Hey to you. You need some help?" 

Without looking up, Dean threw a dishrag at Cas who expertly swiped it out of the air. Cas catches Dean’s grin as he continues scrubbing.

Cas decided to start on a table in the corner that looked like it had seen the worst of the busy Friday night. Grabbing a bucket from the back, he got to work.

The two scrubbed in silence, the only sound being the sloshing water in their buckets. The candles on the table flickered in the cold draft that swept through the room. Dean looked up to catch Cas shiver when a chill ran through his body. Without saying a word, Dean shrugged the jacket off his shoulders, the cold now biting his bare arms. He placed the warm jacket on top of Cas' shivering shoulders and Cas shot a smirk at Dean behind him

"You sap."

Dean grinned and pressed a quick kiss to Cas' cheek before returning to the counter.

"How's Maisa? Geo told me she stopped in the other day." 

Done with the table he was working on, Cas switched to another, dousing his rag in soapy water before slapping in on the worn tabletop.

"She's good. Really good actually," Dean responded, "she told me she's leaving Havbunnen. Her dad's going to work a stand out in Solhi so she's going with him."

The floorboards creaked under Dean's feet as he moved to another part of the counter.

"Wow. I never thought I'd see the day. She’d always used to tell me how she was never gonna leave Hav," Cas smiled as he recalled the conversation that they'd had many years ago- just kids wishing about the future.

"She wanted to own that old farmland, past Frid's house. Was gonna fix it up and grow exotic herbs," Cas' laughter filled the small room. He doused his rag again, the excess water dripping onto the floor. Across the room, Dean had grown abnormally quiet. Cas glanced up at him to see that he had stopped and was staring at the counter.

"Hey," Cas said softly, "you okay?" He stood up and started weaving his way over to his boyfriend at the bar. 

"Do you ever wish you could leave Hav?" Dean's voice stopped Cas in his tracks. Both were still in the flickering light as Cas considered the question.

"Well, I can't, my dad…" 

"I’m asking you, Cas. Just forget about your situation for a second," Dean interrupted him. He didn't seem mad, just thoughtful. Cas contemplated for a moment before continuing.

"I’ve never left Hav. I don't even know what to expect if I did. I've been here my whole life. It's like asking a horse if it likes beer when it’s only ever drank water."

Dean nods slowly, then he stands up and walks into the back, leaving Cas standing in the middle of the empty Tavern.

\-------------------

They took up the whole couch, none of them having the energy to get up and go to the actual bed to sleep. Cas was lying on Dean’s chest, their feet reaching the end. But they weren’t asleep, just staring at the sky speckled with stars. 

Dean’s soft breath tickled his neck and Cas snuggled farther into his chest. They stayed there quietly, none of them making any noise in the hour since they had returned home from Erlen’s. Cas was dragging a finger across Dean’s bare arm, back and forth until he had the courage to break the silence. 

"Hey...about before, I'm sorry if I angered you, you didn't..." 

"No, no, you have nothing to apologize for," Dean sighed and shifted under Cas. After a moment he continued.

"It's just my whole life has been here, you know, I've never left Hav. There's a whole world and I’ve never seen it.”

Dean ran a finger through his chestnut hair. He shifted again.

“I've been an outsider my whole life. My parents are gone, no family, nothing really tying me here, so I guess hearing that Masia was getting out, I don’t know, I guess I’m just jealous." 

Dean brought his arm to wrap around Cas' shoulder. They sat in silence for a moment, both staring into the black abyss. The crickets were chirping outside, rubbing their wings together in the fields. Cas could feel Dean’s heavy breaths underneath him, his heartbeat against his ear. 

"You could leave, you know. I don't want to keep you here." Cas whispered. Dean played with the edge of Cas' frayed shirt, wrapping his fingers in it, dropping it, then repeating the motion. 

"Cas, I’m not leaving you," his voice trembled slightly. “Do you want me to?”

“No of course not,” Cas turned to face Dean and saw his eyes fill with relief. Cas pushed himself up a little and kissed him softly. A small smile pulled at the edge of Dean’s mouth and Cas nestled father into his chest. 

“Plus, where would I go to get free drinks if you weren't here? I need my free mead!” Cas joked. Dean punched him lightly in the arm, their light laughter filling the small room. 

The silence settled again, but this time it was a nice quiet. 

"You know, maybe someday we could leave together, go with a trader and see the world. "

"I’d like that," Cas whispered.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sun peeked through the window and cast thin slants of light on the panes and Cas and Dean's sleeping forms. As Cas surfaced from his slumber, he shifted to see if Dean was awake underneath him, but his eyes were closed and his head was tilted down like he had kissed Cas' head then promptly fallen asleep. Cas grinned and brushed a strand of hair out of Dean’s face. 

The morning was cold for spring. After taking a minute to revel in the warmth of his boyfriend’s body, Cas maneuvered out of Dean’s arms and walked to the table where he'd thrown his thicker shirt the other day. Tugging it over his head, he heard a small whimper from behind him. Turning around to identify where the noise had come from, his gaze fell to Dean who was twisting back and forth on the couch. Quickly stepping over to him, Cas kneeled down to Dean’s level and ran a hand through his messy hair. He whimpered again, thrashing slightly in the chair. 

"Hey, darling, wake up," Cas gently shook Dean’s sleeping form. It always pained Cas to see him like this, helpless, vulnerable to whatever was running around in his head. Dean whimpered again, louder, twisted around again, then suddenly he was awake. Eyes wide in fear, he shot up to a sitting position rocking back and forth. Cupping his trembling face in his hands, Cas gently centered his boyfriend to him.

“Hey, honey. Ya, it’s been awhile, hasn’t it? It’s okay, you're okay,” Cas reassured him, watching as the fear in his eyes turned to disappointment. It had been three weeks since Dean’s last nightmare that made him wake up disoriented and scared. It was getting better, more infrequent, but never really gone. Dean lowered his head and rubbed a tense hand through his thick hair.

Ever since Dean's foster parents died, he’s stayed with Cas. At first, he had a separate room because his dad wanted to make him feel at home. For an official of Hav, he really was a good guy. 

Cas had set him up a bed and some shelves for his stuff. The farmhouse was made with an extra room for guests, not like there were any guests visiting. Dean had slept there a couple of times, but he started to come to Cas' room after he would get nightmares that would make him wake up in cold sweats and chills running through his body. 

It would always be the same thing- a dark deep body of endless water that never seemed to have a surface. He’s drowning. The water fills his lungs, his nose, his mouth. Screams never reach anyone, just the darkness. Then when everything is about to go black, he’s awake, panting, gasping for air. 

Cas would move over on the bed and Dean would climb in under the covers and rest his head on the pillow facing Cas. Nuzzling his face into the spot below his jaw, the two would fall into a peaceful sleep. The next morning they would wake with legs intertwined and much closer than when they fell asleep. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! I'm staying true to my every Saturday rule I gave myself. I may be able to get another one out on Tuesday- so watch out for that! As always thanks for reading!

Ofre came faster than either of the boys expected. With Dean working extra shifts, Cas had nothing better to do then work in the fields behind his house.

The Winchester’s owned about 10 acres of farmland where they grew various crops. Cas tended the crops most of the time because his father was generally away doing ‘official’ work. He did have an at home office, but he barely used it. 

Cas loved working the farm. The feeling of the rich soil in his hands, the thick cabbage and squashes with their smooth skin, the sun beating on his back. He felt alive. 

Dean didn’t understand Cas' love for the land. He didn’t have the patience of turning the soil and planting hundreds of seeds -and that's why the Tavern worked for him. He was moving and serving and doing his own thing at a faster pace. Cas lived for the slowness, the quiet mornings while he picked beans, the dusty sky as he ate the cooked carrots and potatoes, the midday heat while he weeded around the roots of his plants.

That day though, he was bored. All he wanted was to sip a drink chilled with ice and rest his head in Dean’s lap as he played with his hair. But no, Dean was working, so he must too. 

The slam of a door echoed through the fields. Looking up from the pepper plant he was picking, Cas saw his dad in the back doorway of the house. Cas stood up and wiped the dirt off his pants.

“You're home early,” Cas commented as he stepped in the house.

“Needed some papers from my office. Where’s Dean?”

Cas’ dad was tall and lean from years of work. His hair was the same deep color as Cas’ and he had a faint brush of stubble along his jaw. 

Wiping his hands on a towel, Cas followed his father into his office. Ignoring the question, Cas remarked, “I didn’t even know you had anything in here.” He tipped some boxes so he could glance inside before watching his father pick up a large box on the floor. 

“Alright, I’ll be back before dinner.” Cas’ father walked hurriedly out of the office. Scrunching his eyebrows in confusion, Cas watched as his father left the house. 

“Hey, you,” Dean wrapped his arms around Cas’ middle as he stirred the stew in the large pot. Tilting his head to the side, Dean kissed his neck and Cas could feel him grin against the skin.

“How was Erlen’s?”

“Boring. I hate working extra shift cause I miss you,” Dean mumbled into his neck.

“Oh please, you love it there. Plus here I am,” Cas hummed as he dropped the spoon and turned in Dean’s arms. 

“Hungry?”

“Quite.”

Dinner was quiet. They all sipped their soup and complimented the ‘chef’ for the meal. Afterwards they cleaned up -Cas working the sink and Dean on drying duty.

“So, are we keeping the same bets as normal?” Dean asked lightly. 

Every Ofre, Dean and Cas would bet on who they thought would be The Five. It was a quite horrible way of looking at it, but it was something to do. 

Dean always betted on the older people of the town. His argument was always that they were going to die anyways so why or not use them for some good in the government. At that comment Cas would hit him in the arm giggling. 

Cas always betted on the drunks of the town. He argued that they were the most crazy, therefore they would be up for anything. The Fol wouldn’t have to force them to do anything so they’d be perfect for whatever they were for. 

In addition to the drunks, Cas added anyone who wasn’t an older townsperson, just to spite Dean. Therefore, he mostly won. 

None of them were ever completely right -except when Cas won because no one old was chosen- but it was entertaining nevertheless.

The reward from winning was always a glass of the best liquor from Erlen’s bought by the loser. Cas always looked forward to this part and during the year he would comment on what liquor he’d like Dean to buy him when he won. 

“Yes, same as last time,” Cas grinned.

_ “Hey!” Dean jogged over to Cas who was leaning against a fence looking at the crowd that was gathering for the start of Ofre.  _

_ “Where do you suppose they go?” Cas asked, not breaking his gaze at the people. _

_ Hopping up to sit on the fence, Dean pondered the question. _

_ “Never really thought about it. Geo always said that they went to a secret facility where they were taught how to swim.” _

_ Cas burst out laughing, Dean joining him.  _

_ Almost no one in Hav knew how to swim because they lived nowhere close to any body of water large enough to swim in. Over the years it had become a joke- that no one could escape the life of a farmer because they’d become sailors but they couldn’t swim.  _

_ After their laughter had died to small chuckles, Cas asked Dean, “Who’s Geo?”  _

_ “The owner of Erlen's. He’s pretty much become my father after my parents incident. You should hear some of his bar fight stories!”  _

_ Intrigued Cas leaned in closer.  _

_ “He once had to break up a group of hunters arguing over whose rabbit foot necklace was more lucky,” Dean whispered, giggling.  _

_ Eyes widening in surprise, the two doubled over in laughter.  _

A crowd had started to congregate around the town square. The sound of nervous chatter had started to swirl around in the cold air. Dean stood in the doorway of the house watching passerbyers walk past on the streets. 

“Are you ready to go?” Dean shrugged on a jacket and stuffed his hands in the pockets. 

“Mm.” Cas grabbed his brown coat from the chair and swung it over his shoulders. Running a jittery hand through his hair, he sighed.

“You good?” Dean asked him, seeing how his boyfriend was slightly trembling. Glancing over at Dean, Cas hesitantly nodded. 

“Hey, we’ll take our spot in the back, no crowds, I promise.” He encouragingly nodded.

_ “Why aren’t you with your family? Got sick of them?” Dean asked Cas. Cas’ lips tightened and he seemed to pull into himself a little bit. _

_ Being more perceptive than others thought, Dean got the gist of what Cas was silently showing. _

_ “Crowds?” _

_ Dean took the slight downturn of Cas' chin as a yes. _

_ “You want to know what I’m scared of?” Dean asked, hoping the suggestion wouldn’t embarrass Cas.  _

_ Taking the silence as an answer, Dean continued. _

_ “Rabbits. I’m terrified of rabbits.” _

_ Cas emitted a small giggle and Dean took that as encouragement to continue. _

_ “I mean there small sure, but those things will shake up a bush and you think it's like a bear or something, but it's just this little ferocious ball of brown that comes bounding out at you. You have no time to prepare!” _

_ Cas was laughing now, his eyes lighting up with entertainment. _

_ “Hey! It’s not funny! They’re terrifying!” Dean insisted, barely covering his own laugh.  _

_ “Rabbits?” Cas smirked. _

The center was bustling with townspeople as they gathered around the platform in the middle. The five officials of the town stood in a line on the platform, faces like stone. 

Cas' dad stood third in the line dressed in a white tunic with a brown belt across the waist. His face showed no emotion as he stood silently.

Cas' father was good at his job. After joining ten years ago when he realized that just farming wasn't enough to support his son, he joined the board of officials. The job of an official was mainly to collect taxes and enforce rules, but it was harder than it seemed. In those ten years, he was probably the most respected official out of the five of them. He had earned most people's respect simply by being fair to them. While other towns officials were brutal with punishments for small offenses, he was more lenient and didn't berate people for stealing bread or getting a little too rough at a bar. 

__

Officials all reported to The Fol who then gave them tasks to do in their towns as well as new laws to enforce and whatnot. They weren't allowed to speak about their jobs to anyone, even family. For Cas this was frustrating- he had so many questions that his father refused to answer. As Cas got older though, he respected his father's duty and didn’t hassle him with questions because he knew he wouldn't answer them anyways. 

Some people speculated that officials know who The Five were before announcing them. As much as Cas always wanted to ask his father about, it wasn’t his place. If the story was true, knowing people's futures before they were received would never end well, so Cas didn’t ask. 

__

Cas and Dean diverged from the crowd and walked to their spot in the back. The snow had melted away revealing the dirt flecked with pebbles. The sky was covered in thick clouds that blotted out the sun above them. Cas watched the clouds as they slowly moved across the gray sky, his focus suddenly interrupted when a gong was hit.

Focusing his attention on the officials, he nervously twisted his fingers in his pocket. Reaching a warm hand into the twisting pocket, Dean grabbed his boyfriend's hand and wrapped it in his. Cas sighed contently at the contact. 

“Welcome to the 38th bi-annual Ofre!” A man's voice boomed from the center of the platform. A hush fell over the crowd as the chatter ceased.

“As always there will be five names read from the card. These people will step forward as they are called and be escorted to our carriage.” The man gestured to his side where a carriage sat with four horses in front. 

Cas yawned.

The man took a step back and another official stepped into his spot. Opening up an envelope the new official pulled out a thick sheet of paper and unfolded it. 

“Safd Gren.” Her echoed around the square. There was a moment of silence before a young girl, not a day over 10 stepped forward.

“Jeez, they’re snagging the young ones this year,” Dean whispered.

Two guards marched over to the girl who was sobbing into her mother skirt. They took her by the arms and pulled her off her mother. Kicking and screaming, the young girl was dragged to the carriage. Everyone's eyes followed the guards and the girl, none of them making any sort of move in protest, just genuine curiosity about what they would do to her if she didn’t quiet down. 

The guards proceed to throw her into the carriage and close the door. 

With the event over, everyone turned to look back at the official who seemed to be at a loss for words. Collecting herself, she glanced back at the list in her hands. 

“Haran Tol.”

Haran, a teenager, walked to the carriage, a sobbing sister following him until the guards shoved her back into the crowd. Looking one last time at the crowd, Haran climbed into the carriage. 

“Edun Lund.”

Edun silently walked to the carriage and climbed inside without looking back. He seemed around 30 -maybe he had no family. 

“Gera Restund.”

Gera was around 20 with long brown hair. She hugged her parents and the guards escorted her to the carriage. 

Cas yawned again. He wanted to head back home and take a nap right about now. One more person to go then he could head back home.

“DeanWinchester.”

Cas scrunched up his nose for a second in confusion. Why did he just hear Dean’s name? Then he felt it.

Dean dropped his hand,

Paused,

Took a step forward,

Then turned back around to look at Cas with a small smile.

“You won again.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! As said I am posting today! Hopefully this Tuesday and Saturday thing will be regular- I'll try my best to keep it up:) Thanks for reading, and as always comments and kudos are appreciated! *Italic= flashback*

The woods were quiet. Not the light kind of quiet that falls over the forest when sun rays shone through, casting a hazy glow onto the floor beneath the trees. The kind of quiet that seems to swallow you whole. The only thing that broke this silent layer were the birds who flitted around branched, calling out to their families in harsh shrieks. 

Cas' back pressed into the trunk of a thick pine tree. His fingers were numb in their pockets and his heart felt just as unfeeling. 

He’d been out here for hours, unmoving. A passersby wouldn't have even known he was alive except the shallow movement of his chest with each breath. 

His eyes stung around the corners, both from the cold and from crying.

He hadn’t stuck around for when they shoved Dean away from him, or when Dean looked back, searching the crowd before the guards pushed him into the carriage. Or when it pulled away, horses neighing and the sound of hoofbeats fading down the path. He hadn’t been there for when his father frantically scanned the crowd for him. Or the crowd dispersed back to their warm houses. Or when his father silently walked home. 

He’d ran. 

Tree branches had snapped in his face as he blindly tore through the woods, his vision blurry from the rapidly falling tears. The wind seemed to howl, as if to sympathize with him as he ran through the brush, not even noticing when branches scratched his legs through his pants. 

He didn’t even seem to notice when a branch sliced his cheek open with its sharp end either. 

He just ran.

And there he was. Still as a statue beneath the tree. The tears had stopped hours ago and night was quickly approaching but Cas made no move to get up. The cut on his cheek had iced over. The trails of blood that had once run down his face were dried as well. 

Cas was sure he had frozen to death by now. 

For the end of winter, it was awfully cold. Too cold for a man to be sitting under a tree with just pants and a shirt. The chill bit at his exposed skin turning it pale white, some spots even blue. 

But Cas didn’t feel it.

He didn’t feel anything.

But the worst part about it all- the running, the cold, the pain, the nothing- was that only one phrase ran through his head in what seemed to be an endless loop.

He’s gone.

_ “Come on! I know the best spot to build a fort!” Dean dashed through the forest, Cas close behind. _

_ “Aren’t we a little old for forts?” Cas yelled at him. _

_ “You can’t be too old for forts!”  _

_ Laughing, they ran through the forest, ducking under branches and hopping over bushes. The sunlight filtered through the trees, casting shadows on the floor covered in pine needles and leaves. _

_ “Here.”  _

_ Dean abruptly stopped running and Cas almost crashed into his back as he stopped.  _

_ “Dude, give me a little warning next time!” _

_ Dean grinned.  _

_ Jesus, Cas adored this guy. The sun hit his dusty brown hair just right and his laugh was lighter than air. How he was suppressing the urge to kiss him right then and there was beyond him.  _

_ Blushing at the thought, Cas turned away. _

_ “Alright, let's get the big sticks first.”  _

_ Dean promptly started walking away from Cas, who jogged to keep up.  _

_ They spent five hours out there building the perfect fort. They hauled branches and sticks from all around the ‘perfect spot’ and leaned them up against each other. They used bark and moss for the roof, and coated the inside floor with thick moss too.  _

_ After they finished building, they climbed inside. The sun peeked through the branches in the walls and cast stripes onto their bodies where they sat.  _

_ “This was the perfect spot,” Cas concluded. _

_ “Mhm,” Dean agreed.  _

_ It was the perfect afternoon. Dean had brought snacks and they talked and ate and adventured. That night as they headed back, Cas asked Dean, “How’d you know about that spot?” _

_ “I found it a while ago. I wanted to save it for someone special.” _

The skeleton of the fort sat about twenty feet away from where Cas was sitting. It looked bare. The roof was gone, probably with the wind or rain. Only the thickest branches were still propped up on the tree, the rest had fallen into a heap at its base. The moss on the inside had rotted and was now a light brown color. 

There was no sun to shine through its branches.

\-----------------------

“Did you know?”

The house was quiet as Cas stepped through the doorway, but he knew his father was in the chair by the fireplace. 

The silence was truth enough, but he couldn't accept it.

“DID YOU KNOW?!” 

Cas could barely hear his father's answer in the silence, but he did.

“Yes.”

Suddenly the uncontrollable rage was gone and replaced with a deep sadness and grief.

“How, dad...how could you not tell me...tell us?”

“And then what? You wouldn’t have run away? You wouldn’t have screamed at me and told me to change something that I can’t change?” Cas' father exploded. He abruptly stood up from the chair and faced Cas in the entrance of the house.

“I couldn’t do that to you. I couldn't tell you that the love of your life was one of the chosen. It would have broken you. Both of you.”

His voice was quiet now, filled with regret and guilt.

“Well it didn’t do much good, did it.” Cas mumbled bitterly. 

Erlen's was surprisingly quiet for the night of Ofre. Most people after the stressful event would go straight to the Taverns to drink away their fear or to grieve a loss, but Erlen's only had its regulars.

Well, it was also 1 in the morning.

Cas slid into a chair at the counter and signaled to the bartender on shift.

“Whiskey.”

The man set down a glass and started filling it, watching to see when Cas would signal to stop, but he didn’t until it was an inch from the top, the brown liquid swirling in the glass. The man glanced at Cas uneasily, but was quickly signaled by another patron across the bar. 

Alone with his drink, Cas took a big gulp, feeling the liquor burn his throat as it went down. Coughing slightly, Cas looked up to see Geo standing in front of him.

“Little early isn’t it.”

Cas didn’t respond, instead taking another long drink.

“Where’s Dean? You lose him in the crowd?” 

Geo refused to go to Ofre, saying that there wasn’t any need for him to see people getting told they were gonna die. He instead tended the Tavern, getting ready for the nighttime rush.

“You could say that,” Cas muttered into his drink.

“You alright boy? You look like you’ve been wrestling a bear, and he won. You want me to fix up that cheek of yours?”

Cas reached a hand up to touch his cheek. He winced when he pressed down and pain shot through his face. Grimacing, he nodded.

The back room was mostly filled with crates of extra liquor, but Geo always made sure to keep a first-aid kit there as well. 

He gestured to a flipped crate and Cas sat down, the crate creaking beneath him.

“So are you going to tell me how you got that nasty scrape?” Geo pulled a kit out from on top of some boxes and brought it over to Cas.

When he didn’t get an answer, he glanced towards Cas questioningly.

“He was one of The Five,” Cas mumbled numbly. 

Geo stopped.

“What?” The question was barely louder than a whisper.

“They took him. They took him. Dean’s gone,” Cas' words faded to a soft whimper. 

“Ah…,” Geo responded, sadness dripping from his voice, “my poor boy.” Geo shook his head sadly. He opened his mouth to say something else, but thought twice and closed it. 

He placed the first aid kit next to Cas.

“Okay, let me see it,” Geo said gently. He softly raised Cas' head and tilted his face so the cut was towards him.

With gentler fingers then anyone would believe Geo had, he patched up the cut, wiping away the blood and grime that had got stuck in it.

“I’m so sorry, Cas. I know how much he meant to you.” Geo offered with a sad smile. A single tear ran down his freshly bandaged cheek. 

“Hey, I’m going to get us a drink, don’t go nowhere.” Geo walked into the Tavern as Cas sat numbly on the crate. He didn’t cry but instead felt empty. His tear supply must have been used up for the day. His heart hurt, more than any drink could fix, but he accepted the glass that was handed to him.

Pulling up another crate they sat in silence, glasses in hand.

“To Dean,” Geo raised his glass.

“To Dean.”

Their glasses clinked and Cas tilted his head back, relishing the sting the liquor caused.

It was almost daybreak now, the soft light flooding the windows of the Tavern. Cas was half asleep in one of the booths, an arm draped over the table while the other was under his head. 

The bell chimed as a group of four hunters trudged in, dropping their guns in their chairs, then promptly flumping down in them. 

Cas cracked an eye open, the harsh light splitting his vision for a second. Grimacing, he pressed them back together before opening them again, his vision clearer. 

He recognized one of the bigger guys. Loen, was his name, he thought. He wore a heavy jacket and his long hair was tied behind his neck in a loose ponytail. He had thick eyebrows and an even thicker moustache that made it look like he had no mouth. 

Loen walked up to the counter and ordered his group eight pitchers of mead, then returned to the table. The hunters quickly started talking amongst each other in low whispers that Cas could only make out parts of. He had tuned out until he heard one of the guys say ‘Winchester.’ 

Lifting his head up from the arm he was previously using as a pillow, he faced the hunters.

“Did you see his brother? He like ran off after he was called. Didn’t even say goodbye or nothing,” one of the hunters whispered. The other hunters snickered and Cas was up in a flash.

“Hey!” The hunters looked up in surprise at the man who was storming over to them from across the room. Still slightly drunk -and very hungover- it was less of a walk and more of an wonky amble. 

“Ya you!” Cas roared.

The men looked at each other in confusion.

“You're talking bad about me and my boyfriend and now you're going to regret it!” 

His fist connected with the jaw of one of the hunters and suddenly they were all up on their feet surrounding Cas. With his head still in whiskey-vill, Cas clocked another one in the side of the head and he went to the ground with a grunt. 

Someone behind Cas kicked him in the back of the knees and he fell. He tried to regain his footing but he was swiftly kicked in the ribs and he fell back to the floor, pain radiating from his side. He kicked wildly, trying to connect with something, but another kick to the ribs made him cry out. He quickly wrapped his hands around his head as the men above him kicked and hit him where he lay on the floor. Pain shot through his body as the mens boots connected with bone. 

He hurt everywhere, his legs, his arms, his chest. One of his ribs was definitely broken. His wrist may be sprained. 

He received another sharp kick to the groin that made him see stars. 

“HEY!” 

As one of the hunters was about to land another kick to his groin, suddenly Geo was above him, shoving the men away from his trembling body. 

“OUT! GET OUT!” Geo roared at them. 

“He started it!” One shouted back.

“GET. OUT!”

The men quickly grabbed their guns and coats and scrambled out of the Tavern. 

After watching to make sure they were gone, Geo squatted down to Cas on the floor. Offering a hand, Geo pulled him up from the wooden floor. 

“What were you thinking, boy?! You could have been killed!” Geo growled at Cas. 

Cas looked down at the ground refusing to meet Geo’s eyes, twisting his fingers in his hands.

Sighing, Geo rested a hand on Cas' shoulder. 

“Come on son, let's get you patched up again. I think you tore your cheek back open, and a bunch of other stuff.” 


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone, I'm back! I'm posting early because I don't have any time this weekend to, so here you go! Get ready for some action coming up folks, some in this chapter and a bunch in the next few :) Also, this chapters a little longer than the others! As always, comments and kudos appreciated!

Cas rubbed the bandage that was wrapped around his hand as he sat on a roof of an abandoned house, picking at the fraying edges. 

It was early in the morning- maybe four or five at most. The sun just barely peeked over the fields, casting a thin layer of mist on Hav.

Geo had told him to go after he fixed up his various injuries, and Cas didn’t argue. He just quietly left, feeling Geo’s concerned stare on his back. 

It had only been a day and he was a mess. Cas couldn’t even imagine what it would be like next week, or next month, or even next year. 

He knew he was walking home to a silent house. His father would be still home, probably making breakfast before he left for work. The silence would lay heavy in the house, neither of them daring to break it. He couldn’t face him again just yet.

Rubbing a tired hand over his face, Cas considered where he could go for a while.

‘Dean’ his mind cried out. 

Cas pressed on one of the cuts on his hand, trying to silence the wails. 

“Uh, kid? You want to get down from there?”

A man in his mid 30s with charcoal hair stood below where he was perched. 

The man had a cart next to him, and from Cas' vantage point, it looked like it was a traders cart- full of various trinkets and wares. The cart looked old, like this man had gotten it from someone else before him. 

“It’s quiet up here, so no, I’m quite fine thank you.” 

The man hesitated, not knowing whether to push the topic considering he didn’t know this boy. After a moment his curiosity overpowered any politeness and he asked, “Quiet from what? Nobody’s up yet.”

“You are.”

“Ya, well I’ve just walked twenty miles from Duin so I have an excuse.”

Cas twisted the fabric of his shirt in his unhurt hand, not knowing what this man wanted.

“You alright kid?”

“No.” 

Not thinking too much about the fact that he was confiding in a stranger, Cas continued. 

“My boyfriend was one of The Five for Ofre, so he’s gone, and everything around me is screaming. So in reality there isn’t any quiet to go to,” Cas muttered emotionlessly, his face stoic. It had been a long day.

“You know, I know where they bring 'em. It’s North of here.”

Cas looked up from his bandaged hand.

“I mean, not that you should go there cause you’d be killed but,” the trader babbled. He bent down to pick up the ends of his cart but Cas jumped down from the roof to stop him.

“Wait.”

“Yes?”

“You know where they take them?”

“Oh yes,” the trader replied almost gleefully, “I was heading down the road that they bring them up on during one of my longer trade routes.”

Cas considered the information he was receiving, debating whether to trust this man.

“Ya know, I could give you directions, but you’d have to have a death wish to even step fifty feet from that place. And I hate to break it to you, but your boyfriend is probably dead.” The trader looked a little guilty divulging that fact, but Cas knew deep down that it was probably true.

He sighed wearily. 

“No, it would do me no good knowing where he is. I… I have a life here, I can’t just leave it,” Cas mumbled listlessly, turning away from the man. 

The walk home felt long, the sun a little higher over the horizon. Cas heard the trader’s cart roll away behind him. 

‘It would be pointless,’ Cas convinced himself.

‘He’s probably dead anyways.’

\--------------------

It had been a week since Ofre, and the quiet was still trying to eat Cas alive. It was the worst at night. 

He was barely sleeping, his eyes were bloodshot, and every so often his father would shoot a concerned glance at him, which Cas promptly ignored.

It was  _ his  _ fault anyways.

Cas would lie awake in his bed staring at the wooden beams under the ceiling, his mind running constantly. 

He kept seeing him, in his dreams, in the crowds, around corners, but he was never there. Eventually Cas had given up trying to chase down the shadow of the boy who was gone.

One morning- around a week after Cas’ ‘run in’ with the hunters- Cas was sorting through some boxes in his room when he pulled out an old map of Fjelon. The cracked edges were a deep tan color, and the writing was in disorganized notes near pinpoints on the map.

Pulling it out, he unraveled it. It was large, almost as wide as his arm span, and around three feet tall. Laying it out on the table next to him, Cas tried to decipher the messy writing, squinting at the small words.

‘Ha...v...nen.. Suppose that must be Hav... S...li... Sohli?” 

Cas pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes, trying to rub the insomnia out of them. 

Without thinking it about it, his finger trailed a road that traveled North until it ended in the mountains. Shaking his head, he followed the trail again, but it just ended at the base of The Silver Mountains that circled Fjelon. 

He quickly grabbed a magnifying glass from the bottom of the box.

The spot had nothing in it, it was like the road just stopped with no other near trail or markers of any sort of establishment. 

“Wait, didn’t the trader say the path he saw the carriage on was heading North? He couldn’t have meant this one, could he?” Cas muttered, looking at the spot again.

But it was blank. 

“If it was classified, I suppose they wouldn’t label it on maps would they.”

Cas abruptly rolled up the map and put it in the box.

“No!” He argued, “you aren’t running off into the middle of nowhere where they may not even be to save your boyfriend who is probably dead!” 

Cas clenched his jaw.

It was a reckless idea with no positive outcome possible. He could get lost or attacked or who knows what out there!

But the thought nagged in the back of his mind, persistently tugging at his heartstrings.

‘What if he could save him?’

The house was dark when he left. His father hadn’t come home yet, and he didn’t bother to leave a note. Cas knew it was a childish way to go about it, but he wasn’t really thinking straight anyways. 

He had thrown some various things into a bag- some rope, food, water, a knife- which he’d then swung over his shoulder. At the last moment, he tentatively grabbed Dean some clothes- though he chided himself for being hopeful. He had grabbed his thicker coat and the map that he’d found as well, and was now standing in front of his house. 

He knew there was a chance that he’d never see it again, or be back at all.

There was a chance he'd be dead next week too, but Cas ignored that thought that tugged at the back of his mind.

He was aware he needed to leave if he was going to get to the end of the road in the next week, but he couldn't seem to walk away. It was like his body was locked in place, forcing him to stare at the home he was going to abandon for a possibly futile attempt of a rescue mission. 

Cas never thought he’d leave Hav. He grew up here, everyone he ever knew lived here, his future was here. 

But as the sun rose over the fields that morning, if one were to open their windows to admire the day, they would see a lone shadow on the path leaving Hav. 

The shadow of a man who was leaving it all behind.

The path that led out of Hav was a dirt road that winded its way through deep wilderness before breaking off into two trails- one to Duin and one to who knows where. 

As Cas trudged along it took a lot of effort not to look back. 

He told himself that if he was going to be successful at all, he can’t turn around.

So he trekked forward. 

Spring was coming quickly. The thin trees that swayed with even the slightest breeze were starting to grow leaves and the birds were delighted in the change in temperature. 

Cas was just glad he wouldn't have to camp in the snow.

It was a lonely hike to where he was going to set up camp for the night. He passed no traders, no hunters, no lost drunks stumbling in the road. 

The only noises were from the crunching of his boots on the pebbly dirt and the occasional chirp of a nearby bird. 

So Cas was alone with his thoughts. 

_ It was almost winter and snow was starting to cover the roads and roofs of Hav. The thin layer that was forming was quickly tramped down by the feet of Dean and Cas who- with snowballs in hand- were sprinting across town. Every so often there was a ‘thud’ and then a ‘got you!’ the echoed through the town. _

_ Cas was hiding behind a wagon waiting for Dean to come in sight when he heard a quiet crunch on the snow behind him. Not turning fast enough, he received a mouthful of snow and a laughing Dean, who after his stunt ran quickly away.  _

_ Spitting out snow Cas quickly followed him through the town.  _

_ Dean dodged one of Cas’ snowballs that instead hit the side of a house, and another that hit a window with a ‘thunk.’  _

_ Dean dived around a corner and then sprinted up a street hoping to lose Cas.  _

_ As he turned around another house, Dean quickly glanced behind him to see where Cas was before he hit something solid and fell into the snow.  _

_ “Got ya,” Cas chuckled as a snowball hit Dean in the forehead, scattering snowflakes across his face.  _

_ “Okay, okay, you win,” Dean giggled, wiping snow from his hair.  _

_ “Come on, let's go get something hot to drink before we both freeze to death.” _

_ Just now noticing how cold he was, Dean nodded. Cas offered a hand and Dean gladly accepted, pulling himself out of the snow. _

_ Dean didn't let go. _

\-------------

Looking at his map Cas determined that he was around 2 miles from a camping spot he’d marked. Grumbling, he shoved it back into his bag and kept walking. 

The sun was starting to sink causing the trees to cast eerie shadows over the path. Not wanting to be hiking in the dark, Cas sped up. 

Eventually he made it to the clearing he’d marked and set down his stuff.

Twenty minutes later Cas was sitting by a crackling fire. The sparks shot out of the flames and twisted into the sky before dying out and falling back to the ground. 

He’d cooked some meat he had snagged from his kitchen which hadn’t really filled him up but he wasn’t going to complain. 

Not that he had anyone to complain to that is.

He’d also set up a makeshift tent with a tarp and some sticks he had collected from the surrounding woods. 

The ground wasn’t comfortable, but it would have to do. There was a rock sticking into his leg, but he didn’t have the energy to move it.

They say it eases with time. It doesn’t- it just changes shape. It goes from a consuming fire to a searing burn to an emptiness that never really ends. 

Like a piece of you is gone and there isn't really a way to replace it or get it back so you either ignore it and it eventually takes over, or you act upon it and hope it doesn't get worse. 

Cas was praying for the latter.

The next day came faster then he hoped. With no type of shade, the sun hit Cas the second it rose causing him to wake up far earlier then he wanted. 

Grumpy and groggy Cas packed up and set off once again.

His legs ached from the day before, a constant reminder that he wasn’t cut out for this.

He had dreamed, which hadn’t happened in a while. It was one of those dreams that you wake up and the real world comes crashing down on you. 

_ “They call that one Cassiopeia,” Dean pointed into the dark sky that was speckled with stars. _

_ It was a warm summer night and Dean had pulled Cas out of bed to go stargazing with him. _

_ “It’ll be fun!” He told him. So Cas followed Dean into a field where they laid down, faces to the inky sky. _

_ “Where?” Cas questioned, eyes searching for the constellation.  _

_ “There,” Dean guided Cas' finger to point out the stars. _

_ “Ah…” Cas stared at the stars that made a zig zag in the sky, “I like that one.” _

_ Dean hummed in agreement next to him. Silently, he intertwined his fingers with Cas', who in response sighed contently.  _

_ “Tell me another.” _

_ “Well… that ones called Lepus…” _

He’d been walking for hours and his water supply was running dangerously low. He pulled out the map, hoping that there was some sort of river or stream around him that he could use to restock.

Luckily, a blue line that squiggled along the path indicated that there was a small stream to the East of his location. So he set off in that direction. 

The soft sound of a babbling stream cut through the forest. Cas trudged over to the edge and dipped a finger in the rushing waters.

The cold sent a shiver up his spine.

Dipping the mouth of the flask in the water, he waited for it to fill up. 

As he was about to stand up, he heard a rustle in the bushes across from him. Not wanting to provoke any sort of animal that was only feet away from him, Cas stilled.

The forest was silent for a moment until another rustle shook the bush, more ferociously this time. 

Cas held his breath as a large brown shape lumbered out from behind the bush. He quickly tucked himself behind a large rock, hoping the quick movement wouldn’t provoke it. 

The bear ambled over the edge of the stream, its shaggy coat colored a rusty brown.

The bear picked up his head, sniffing the air.

Frozen in fear, Cas didn’t know whether to grab his knife and run- then hope it doesn’t follow him- or stay still and hope it doesn’t come at him while he is unprepared. 

Deciding that the bear noticing him while he was unprepared was a larger risk then him outrunning it, as slowly as humanly possible, Cas reached for his knife that was strapped onto the side of his bag. 

The bear, who was now about twenty feet away from him, dipped his head down to where he stood by the stream, and took a long drink of the cool liquid. 

Knife in hand, Cas started to slowly back up, when a low growl rumbled from the bears chest.

Stopping in his tracks, Cas held his knife ready.

Another deep growl was heard as the bear swiveled its head to stare in the direction that Cas was hiding in. 

Cas quickly looked around the area that he’d cornered himself in.

No exit that wouldn’t startle the predator that was not too far away. 

“Shoot,” he muttered under his breath.

Panicking with no quiet exit, Cas went for it. 

As fast as his agility would let him, he vaulted over the top of the rock, his feet landing hard on the ground on the other side. The impact sent daggers of pain up his legs but he ignored it. 

He grabbed a branch that was sticking out of a fallen tree trunk and leapt over the log, landing now in the stones near the bank of the stream. 

He ducked under the log and he frantically looked for the bear.

Then he felt a warm huff of breath in his ear that ruffled his hair. 

“Shoot.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, Cas! So? What do you think will happen? Thoughts? I'd love to hear your theories for the upcoming chapters :) NEXT CHAPTER TUESDAY, MAY 26


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all! I'm back! So this chapter we start to get into what the heck's happening around Fjelon- exciting right! Side note- all of the characters except Cas and Dean are original characters- I hope you like them and still read nevertheless! Well, on with the show :)

The bear's nose was inches from Cas' ear; he felt the wet breath on the back of his neck.

With a burst of adrenaline, Cas leapt up and vaulted over the log. Sprinting through the sandy beach and into the stream, he heard the crunch of the bear as he plowed through the tree trunk, racing after him. 

“ROAR!”

Without looking back, Cas tore through the forest, his legs aching with every step, but he kept running. 

He could hear the bear behind him, crashing through the woods. 

A ferocious growl ripped through the forest again, and Cas sped up. 

The branches snapped in his face as he sprinted through the woods, jumping over fallen logs and ducking under tilted trees.

He must have run for a half an hour, but time doesn’t register correctly when you're running for your life. 

Suddenly his foot caught on a stone, and he toppled to the ground, landing with a thud on the floor of pine needles. Pushing himself up, Cas tried to keep going, but daggers of pain shot up his calf and he fell again. 

Frozen in fear and feeling too vulnerable, he listened for the bear.

Barely hearing anything over his pounding heart, he tried to calm his breathing and he listened again.

The woods were quiet. 

A couple birds flitted by, cawing at each other. A small mouse scurried by Cas' leg that was sprawled out in front of him. An insect buzzed near his ear.

But other than the sound of the forest being alive, he didn’t hear tromping of the large creature. 

He pressed on his foot, gauging the damage; the immediate feeling of agony flashing up his bones followed.

Gritting his teeth, he pushed himself into the wood of a log that had toppled over and waited for night to fall.

Cas never liked the woods at night- he had heard too many horror stories from Erlen's. 

It was dark, like the night should be, but it seemed darker in the woods. The moon's soft light didn’t cut through the thick canopy of the forest, so instead of a dusty black color, it was a deep charcoal. The kind of night that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face. 

Cas had curled up under an upturned log, his bad foot carefully propped up on a stone. He didn't sleep, maybe ten minutes the whole night at most- and when he did sleep, it was quick nightmares of him being chased by black shaped creatures. 

His whole body was on high alert, like it knew a predator may be lurking in the shadows.

Cas tried to convince himself that if he couldn't see the bear the bear couldn't see him, but he then remembered that there were other creatures in these woods that had far better eyesight and could kill him just the same. 

So there he lay, waiting for something to jump out of the shadows at him. His hand was sore from the steel tight grip he was holding his knife with for what seemed like hours.

A bug jumped blindly onto his hand, and Cas almost screamed in surprise. 

It was going to be a long night.

\------------------

Finally the sun broke through the trees and Cas woke up with a start.

“Where am I?” He muttered, groggily glancing around at his surroundings before the last day flooded back.

“Oh ya, near death, that's right.”

Gathering up his belongings, he tested out his foot. Gingerly stepping down on it, he winced when pain shot up his leg. 

“Great,” he mumbled. 

Leaning against a tree, Cas grabbed his map trying to figure out where he was. After he got a general idea of where he had run too yesterday and currently was, Cas noticed that he was only a couple miles from the road. Then from the road, only a couple miles from the end. 

Subconsciously he had run in the right direction.

The trek to the road was calm- meaning that Cas saw no bears. He took that as a win, ignoring the fact that his foot protested every time he put pressure on it and that yet again he was running out of water.

As he broke the treeline and stepped onto the road, he sat down, resting his aching foot. He peeled his boot off and grimaced at the purple and black bruise that was quickly swelling. 

He let it air for a moment before shoving it back on and continuing. 

“What is that?” Cas muttered. 

He’d traveled about three miles up the road, and based on his map, the end should be in the next mile or so. 

On a tree on the edge of the path, something flashed in the sunlight. As Cas got closer he realized that it was a sign, or used to be at least. 

‘ **_GOVERNMENT AREA- TURN AROUND OR FACE THE CONSEQUENCES’_ **

There were other words underneath, but the paint had been scratched away and only fragments of words were left. Heaving his bag higher on his shoulder, Cas sighed.

“Well, I suppose I’ll face the consequences.”

The farther Cas trekked up the road, the nicer it became until it was a paved street that curved into the woods. As he hiked farther and farther, the road was cut off by a chain link fence.

The fence was around twenty feet tall, barbed wire on the top and ‘Warning’ signs all around the outside. From Cas' vantage point, the gate seemed to go deep into the woods.

The fence was secured by a thick lock and a chain that didn’t look like it was coming off easily. 

Past the fence there just seemed to be more paved road. Looking at his map, Cas confirmed that right where he was was the marked end of the road.

“I’m coming, Dean.”

Climbing the fence wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t electrified- which was something Cas didn’t even consider until he was halfway up.

The metal dug into his hands as they gripped the metal, pulling himself higher up the fence. He let his bruised foot rest, pushing himself up only with the other one- which proved more difficult than Cas had anticipated. 

As he reached the top, he swung a leg over and cautiously stepped between the barbed wire. Testing his balance, he swung his other leg over, but gasped when the metal tore into the inside leg of his pants, the barb slicing his thigh.

Gritting his teeth, Cas crawled down the other side of the fence and landed on the other side. Peeking at his leg, he grimaced at the blood that was soaking through the pants. Deciding he needed to patch it up somehow, he ripped the end off his shirt and deftly tied it around his thigh, testing his circulation before he continued his hike. 

The fabric rubbed his cut fiercely, and it took all of Cas' focus not to stop and sit down. 

After a couple hours of walking, much slower than when he originally started, Cas caught a glimpse of a building in the distance.

He quickly limped over to the edge of the path. He may have been an idiot for coming here, but he wasn’t idiotic enough to walk over in both full daylight and on the main path.

No, he’d find a back entrance that night. 

Once night fell and the crickets were chirping as they do, Cas crept closer to the building. From where he was behind a tree, he could tell the building was large- larger than any in Havbunnen. 

It was tall and made of a tan material that looked like concrete. It resembled a large box, and had no windows, or at least that he could see. Cas did note that every couple of minutes a guard would come into sight from around the corner, walk in front of the side door he was watching, wait for a minute, then turn back around.

His plan was made very haphazardly considering he knew very little about this secretive office. Hell, he didn’t even know if this was where Dean really was, but he didn’t have the time to wait around. His foot was getting worse, and his thigh looked like it was infected. He couldn’t waste another day waiting for the right moment.

Waiting for the guard to make his rounds, he crept up to the metal door. Wiggling the handle he frowned when it was locked. 

“How the hell am I supposed to get in?” He muttered. 

The guard.

He had to have a key. 

He leaned against the wall to wait for the guard. As a black jacket came into view Cas yelled out at the man, “Hey!”

The guard looked at a loss to why a man with no shoe was propped up against his building. 

“Ya, you,” Cas flirted. He waggled his fingers and the guard looked even more confused than before. 

“You’re not supposed to-”

“Oh, but I missed you! I just couldn’t stay away!” Cas proclaimed, taking a few steps towards the guard.

“I… I don’t know you?” he sputtered. His hand went to his holster. 

“What?” Cas feigned offense, “we met at the Tavern remember?

Cas was inches away from the guard now. 

“You said some things, and I said some things,” Cas giggled. The guard looked petrified. 

“Well, I’m sorry in advance,” he grinned sheepishly as his fist flew, connecting with the guard's jaw. He fell to the ground, passed out. 

Grabbing the rope out of his bag, Cas expertly tied his hands and his feet, then snagging both his key and his gun.

“Hm, this may be useful,” Cas muttered, testing the weight of the gun in his hand. 

The door creakily unlocked and opened into a long hallway lit up by small lights in the ceiling. 

Moving slowly, close to the ground, Cas snuck down the hallway, gun at the ready.

He wasn’t sure if he had the guts to actually shoot someone, but he thought it may prove useful. 

The building seemed empty- which Cas knew couldn't be true- but as he maneuvered his way through the endless hallways he saw no one. No guards, no officials, no one. 

As Cas took a left turn, he almost slammed into a door that was set back into the wall. The window of the door was tinted but the silver nameplate on the door read ‘ _ Jillon Avert.’ _

Cas took a second glance at the door tag. 

Why did that sound suspiciously familiar?

He pushed away the thought quickly, however. He had work to do. Trying the door, Cas was surprised when it softly opened. Checking behind to make sure no one was behind him, he crept into the dark room. Not wanting to risk turning on a light, Cas surveyed the room.

It seemed to be an office. A desk sat on the left, piles of papers and file folders lay in a discombobulated pile on top of it. Next to the desk stood tall bookcases filled with thick volumes in various colors. 

The rest of the room had several pieces of furniture. A couch with a side table was pressed against the right wall, and a coffee table sat in the middle, a loveseat to its left. They all had piles of scattered papers on top of them, some looking like they hadn’t been touched in years. 

Cas crept over to one of the piles on the desk and picked up the first paper.

**_PATIENT 438_ **

**_Results: Negative_ **

**_Reaction: Negative_ **

**_Terminated: Yes_ **

Cas tucked the page into his back pocket and picked up another.

**_PATIENT 1023_ **

**_Results: Negative_ **

**_Reaction: Negative_ **

**_Terminated: Yes_ **

“The hell?” Cas shoved the paper into his pocket, quickly rifling through the rest of the pile. 

They all stated the same thing on the last line in a thick black ink.

**_Terminated: Yes_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eeek! This can't be good! Thoughts? Comments? Predictions? Comments always make my day :) Thanks for reading- NEXT CHAPTER- SATURDAY, MAY 30


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone! I'm back as promised- this chapter has a lot of stuff happening so get ready! Just a heads up- there is a nightmare/panic attack in this chapter- but nothing overly descriptive and relatively short. Disclaimer, I have never had a panic attack or anything of the sort so this is my best representation of my research. Therefore, if anything is wrong or not dealt with correctly, please tell me! I'll be sure to fix it :)

Cas hadn’t been in the office long when he heard a shout in the hallway. Quickly shoving as many papers as he could into his bag, Cas dashed over to the side of the door, pressing his back into the hard concrete. 

Another shout echoed and he heard loud footsteps getting closer to where he was hiding. 

They got nearer and nearer, until they stopped and silence filled the hallway. Confused, Cas peeked out of the door’s foggy window, but couldn't see anything. 

“You two with me,” a man whispered harshly right outside of the door. Cas quickly pressed himself harder into the concrete. He heard soft footsteps as other guards followed the man's command. 

“On three,” the man whispered again,” one… two… three!” 

The door next to Cas flew open as three guards rushed inside, guns pointing around the room. 

“Reveal yourself!” the man yelled into the empty office.

Cas sprinted down the hallway, his footsteps echoing on the concrete. He made a quick turn down a hallway and darted into a sunken doorway, waiting for the guards to follow him. 

The thudding of footsteps reverberated on the hard walls as the guards ran down the hallway that Cas was just in.

“He’s gone, boss! Looking for him now,” one of the guards voiced into a small radio on his belt. Cas quickly ducked his head back in the doorway as he waited for them to pass. 

Without looking at the room he was entering he opened the door. Cas snuck into the dark room, quietly closing the door behind him. Breathing heavily, he listened for the guards but didn’t hear their heavy footsteps anymore.

Jeez did this remind him of spring a few years back. 

_“Dude! Did you just steal that?!” Cas gasped as Dean ducked behind the cart where Cas was crouched. He held a basket in his hand overflowing_ _with different types of bread._

_ Dean shot him a grin. Sneaking a look over the cart, Dean surveyed the market where he’d just stolen the bread from.  _

_ “What?” Dean giggled as he ducked back under the cart, “I was hungry!” _

_ “You know we could have just bought that,” Cas smirked. _

_ “What's the fun in that?”  _

_ Peeking his head over again, Dean quickly grabbed Cas' hand, pulling him up.  _

_ “The guards are coming for us, we gotta run!”  _

_ Dean and Cas darted around a corner of a nearby building and sprinted across a street. They could both hear the pounding of the guards feet on the ground behind them, but neither looked back.  _

_ They ran past buildings, the wood blurring in their peripheral. Dean abruptly yanked Cas behind a wagon. _

_ “Shh!” Dean put a finger to his lips. They both crouched behind the wagon as the guards ran by. They grinned at each other. _

_ “Bread?” Dean offered. _

_ “Why not?”  _

_ So there they sat, munching on stolen bread behind an abandoned cart.  _

_ “Dean?” Cas hesitantly whispered. Pausing his bite Dean looked at Cas. _

_ “What’s up?”  _

_ “Well…. Um… we’ve been doing a bunch of fun stuff over the past couple of years, like fort building and snowball fights and stuff… and that-” _

_ “Yes.” _

_ Cas looked up at Dean quizzically. Dean took another bite of his bread. _

_ “Yes what?” Cas shot Dean a bewildered look.  _

_ “Yes I’ll go out with you.” _

_ “What?” _

_ “That is what you were going to ask right?” Dean took another large bite of bread, tearing off a chunk.  _

_ “Um… ya.” _

_ “So yes.” _

_ “Oh, okay… good.” _

_ “Good? That's it?” _

_ “Well…” _

_ Dean leaned over and pressed his lips onto Cas'. Cas tasted like winter and mint, exactly how Dean had envisioned. Dean’s lips were as soft as snow. Cas ran a hand up Dean’s side, Dean leaned in more, deepening the kiss. Finally they broke apart.  _

_ “Oh,” Cas whispered breathless, “So that's what that feels like.” _

__ Sure that the guards were gone, Cas slumped into the dark corner, relishing the relief that came when he had no pressure on his injuries.

He was about to get up to go deeper into the building when he heard a whimper cut through the silence.

“Please… don’t hurt me!” 

\--------------------

Cas crouched in the dark corner, not knowing whether to reveal himself or not to the disembodied voice. 

A sob sliced through the stagnant air and Cas choked back a cry of relief.

Dean.

It was Dean.

Rushing towards the cry, Cas almost ran straight into the medical bed that sat in the center of the room. Crouching down again, Cas ran his finger along the edge questioningly. 

What was this for? What did they do to him?

Scared the guards would come back any moment, Cas frantically reached for Dean on the bed. 

“No!” A sharp cry emanated from Dean as Cas felt him abruptly jerk away from his hand that hovered inches from his shoulder.

“Dean!” He whispered, “it’s me!” 

“Please...No!” Dean’s crys made Cas' heart throb. What had they done to his innocent boyfriend? 

Tentatively, he placed his hand on Dean’s shoulder, a chill running up his arm. Why was he so cold? It was like touching a block of ice. Dean tensed under his touch.

Resisting the urge to cry out in anger, he felt around for some sort of buckle that must have held Dean down to the bed. 

His fingers brushed over a metal clasp and Cas unlatched it, pulling the leather cuffs from Dean’s wrists. His eyes were getting used to the dark now; he could make out dark shapes in the small, concrete room. 

With the buckle undone Dean violently yanked his arm out of Cas' reach. 

Shaking the anger and resentment from his head, Cas focused on the task- getting Dean out. 

“Hey, hey, you’re okay, I’m here,” Cas murmured softly as he reached over Dean’s body to unlatch to the opposing clasp. 

Cas tried to keep his hands steady but they shook with fear and anger that threatened to bubble over. 

What was he going to do? 

Dean whimpered again as he unlatched the clasp. With both hands free, Cas tentatively reached over Dean’s body. 

“Can you stand? We have to leave, now,” Cas told Dean hurriedly.

After not receiving any reaction, Cas tentatively tugged Dean off the bed, his limp body sagging in Cas' arms. 

He felt so skinny in his grip. Cas felt bones protruding out of Dean’s skin and he barely held back a roar. He wanted to kill whoever was responsible for this. They would pay greatly for what they did to Dean. 

Lifting Dean over to the door, he grimaced at how much it seemed like Cas' arms were the only thing holding Dean up. 

They needed to get out of here. 

Pushing the door open, the harsh light split Cas' vision. Blinking back the burning in his eyes, he surveyed the hallway. Spotting no one, he pushed the door open a little farther. The shuffling of the door reverberated off the stark white walls. 

Calming his racing heart, he glanced over to Dean who lay limp in his arms. His eyes were closed and his breaths were shallow. 

‘He must have passed out,’ Cas thought as he heaved Dean higher into his arms. He felt as heavy as a pile of leaves. Cas swallowed thickly.

As Cas scanned the hallway, he shot a glance at Dean in his arms.

Good God…

Cas was wrong to say he was skinny. He was almost skeleton, his ribs making hills in the skin of his stomach. His eyes were sunken and large black bruises covered his arms and face. The once golden brown hair was tangled and ratty. Both thin and thick cuts covered his pale skin in harsh red lines. Some looked like they needed to be stitched back together. 

Tears threatened the corners of Cas' eyes. He clenched his jaw and slowly shuffled out into the hallway. Keeping low to the ground, Cas shimmied along the side of the walls, trying to keep Dean secured in his grip. He could barely hear anything over the pounding of his heart.

They were going to be caught.

They were going to be caught.

Cas turned a corner after checking for guards, but it was empty like the one they were previously in.

Where were they? This seemed too easy.

Ignoring the creeping suspicion that this escape was too simple, Cas made his way to the door he had entered from. The metal door was still slightly ajar from his prior break in, and he creaked it open. A blast of cool air hit his face as the night air seeped in. Glancing behind him, Cas scurried into the night.

His legs burned from the effort as he ran with Dean to the treeline. His thigh and foot were killing him but he ignored them. 

Finally, they were underneath the canopy of the trees. With a gasp, Cas dropped Dean onto the blanket of pine needles and sank to the ground breathing heavily. His heart was still going a mile a minute. The cold air felt amazing in his lungs. After a minute, he lifted Dean’s limp body into his arms and started to trudge farther into the woods. 

He didn't stop until they were miles away from that wretched place. 

After hours of walking under the curtain of the night, the sun started to peak its way over the tops of the trees, casting dusty shadows into the forest. Throat burning and body aching, Cas dropped to the ground. He frantically searched in his bag, sighing with relief as his hand curled around his water bottle. Gulping down the cool liquid, Cas relished in the tasteless drink. 

He had placed Dean so he was propped up on Cas' shoulder. The white jumpsuit he was in from the compound was stained with dirt. His eyes were still closed but his breathing had evened out since the time when he had passed out. Not knowing what to do since Dean wasn’t conscious, Cas made sure he was comfortable and waited. 

The woods were full of chatter. Birds populated the thick pine branches and mice and insects rustled bushes and leaves. But Cas couldn't enjoy watching their pointless wandering through the forest because he couldn’t relax. He’d freed Dean from that horrible place and he was a hero sort of, but at what cost?

Was Dean going to be the same Dean that he knew and loved?

  
  


“No…” Dean whimpered. Cas was quickly pulled out of his thoughts as he turned to Dean who was lying next to him. He whimpered again and his body twisted and convulsed, muscles tightening and releasing in an unnatural way. 

“Hey… hey Dean. Come back to me!” Cas shook Dean’s shoulder hoping to wake him from his nightmare or whatever was going on in his mind. 

Dean twisted again and suddenly he shouted, “NO, PLEASE….no…” Birds squaked overhead as they flew off at the sudden noise. 

Cas shook Dean’s shoulder again. 

“Come on, come on, it isn't real,” Cas reassured, trying to keep his voice a careful neutral. 

Dean whimpered again, the wet gasps rattling Cas to his core. Running finger over Dean’s jawbone he whispered sweet nothings to him as Dean cried and writhed under his touch. 

After an especially hard to watch contortion, Dean's eyes flew open and he gasped. 

Cas sucked in a breath of relief as Dean’s bright green eyes locked with his. 

But he didn’t see relief in Dean’s. He saw pure fear. 

“Get away from me!” Dean shrieked as he frantically scrambled backwards until he hit a tree. His eyes were open wide and his breaths shallow as he seemed to desperately look for something to defend himself with. His eyes flicked around the woods rapidly, trying to comprehend where he was. 

Fear gripped Cas’ heart as he stood, frozen in his spot. This couldn’t be happening! He was supposed to wake up and everything would be okay! It always was! 

As slowly as he could, Cas lowered himself to the ground a few meters away from where Dean was. Keeping his eyes locked on Dean’s, he put his hands out in surrender. 

“I’m not going to hurt you, Dean. I’m your friend.” Cas watched as Dean considered his words, the wild panic slightly fading. 

Seeing this as a small step in the right direction, maintaining eye contact, Cas moved an inch closer. Gauging Dean’s response to the action, he tentatively lowered his hands. 

They were now sitting about five feet apart on the soft forest floor. Dean’s breathing had evened out a little and Cas was so relieved he wanted to just run over to Dean and kiss him. But no, he had to make sure he was alright first.

When Cas didn’t notice any defensive reaction to his advance closer, he scooted a little closer. He was now in arms reach of Dean. 

“May I touch you?” Cas asked quietly, not wanting to alarm the boy. 

After a moment, Dean slowly nodded. The distress in his eyes was now almost completely gone. 

Taking a breath, Cas gently placed a hand on Dean’s forearm. Dean watched the movement almost inquisitively. 

Dean swallowed thickly at the contact, but made no movement for Cas to stop.

A soft smile spread across Cas’ face. 

“Cas?” Dean asked quietly, as if he thought he was still dreaming. The single word was laced with both hope and the sickly tinge of fear. 

“Hey, darling. You back with me?” 

Dean avoided Cas’ eyes, but he nodded. 

“I’m going to get you some water, alright? I’ll be right back.” Cas slowly untwined his fingers from Dean’s and went over to his bag to grab the bottle. Dean took it graciously and gulped down the cold liquid.

“Thank you,” he muttered, handing it back to Cas. 

“Dean-” Cas started. Dean seemed to cower in on himself at the use of his name. 

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Dean stated shortly. He glanced up at Cas slightly, like he was afraid he would retaliate. 

“Okay,” Cas whispered. 

They were going to be okay. They had to be. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I left you on sort of a cliffhanger, but don't worry, I'll be back :) Comments and kudos always appreciated- tell me if you've made it this far or if you just want to say hi! Always appreciated! NEXT CHAPTER- TUESDAY, JUNE 2


End file.
